Final rites of Haj: Pilgrims perform Tawaf as Muslims celebrate Eid Al Adha

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba as they perform Tawaf during the annual haj pilgrimage, at the Grand Mosque, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia June 16, 2024. Photo: Reuters

More than 850,000 Haj pilgrims performed Tawaf Al-Ifadah (circumambulation of Kaaba) on Sunday inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The ritual marking the final days of the Haj and the start of the Eid Al Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world.

The authorities organised entry to the Grand Mosque through specific doors for each group of pilgrims to perform the Tawaf around the Holy Kaaba, which contributed to the flow and facilitation of pilgrims' movement.

Pilgrims also performed the last major ritual of the Haj, the "stoning of the devil", in western Saudi Arabia as Muslims around the globe celebrated the Eid Al Adha holiday.

Beginning at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims undertaking the pilgrimage this year threw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolising the devil in the Mina valley, located outside Islam's holiest city of Mecca.

The ritual commemorates Abraham's stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God's order to sacrifice his son.

As one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings wound down, authorities from multiple countries said at least, many of them from "extreme heat", highlighting the acute physical toll of the annual rites which in recent years have fallen during the Saudi summer.

Roads leading to the concrete walls were packed on Sunday, with some pilgrims struggling under the morning sun. At least two pilgrims were seen lying on the side of the road, sheltered by buildings and cars.

Temperatures soared well above 40℃ each day and on Saturday hit 46℃ on Mount Arafat, where pilgrims performed hours of outdoor prayers.

Jordan's foreign ministry said on Sunday that 14 Jordanian pilgrims had died "after suffering sun stroke due to the extreme heat wave", and that 17 others were "missing".

Iran reported the deaths of five pilgrims but did not specify the cause, while Senegal's foreign ministry said that three others had died.

Saudi Arabia has not provided any information on fatalities.

During last year's Haj at least 240 people -- many from Indonesia -- died, according to figures announced by various countries which also did not specify causes of death.

There were also more than 10,000 cases of heat-related illnesses, 10 percent of which were heat stroke, a health ministry spokesman told AFP.

Worshippers did their best to take the taxing conditions in stride, seizing what for many was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pray at Islam's holiest shrines.

"It's physically gruelling, but it's very spiritually charged. For me, I was sort of in awe at all times," said 49-year-old Canadian Neron Khan.

For part of the pilgrimage, "I was in some sort of heat exhaustion situation," she added.

"But I had to keep going because we were surrounded by everybody. And you just had to push through."

One treatment centre near Mount Arafat recorded 225 cases of heat stress and fatigue so far, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

"It was very, very hot," Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian living in the United States, told AFP on Saturday night as pilgrims collected stones to throw.

"Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), I put a lot of water on my head and it was OK."

Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old woman from Egypt, said she was happy beyond words and the Haj showed "that we are all equal, that there are no differences between Muslims around the world."

One of the five pillars of Islam, the Haj must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.

This year's figure of 1.8 million pilgrims is similar to last year's, and Saudi authorities said on Saturday that 1.6 million of them came from abroad.

These included 17,500 Syrians, according to Badreddine Mansour, director of a Saudi agency specialising in pilgrimages.

For Syrians living in government-controlled areas, hajj has long been out of reach but the reintegration of President Bashar al-Assad's government into the Arab fold last year has enabled direct flights to the pilgrimage.

For Ghada Rifai, 60, a retired teacher from Damascus, this meant "a dream come true."

Sunday's stoning ritual coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha, or the feast of the sacrifice, which honours Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son before God offered a sheep instead.

Worshippers typically slaughter a sheep and offer part of the meat to the needy.

The festivities were clouded by the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We don't feel the Eid holiday because our brothers in Gaza are oppressed under the (Israeli) occupation," said Najem Nawwar, a 43-year-old Egyptian pilgrim.

King Salman invited 2,000 Palestinians to the hajj at his own expense, including relatives of Gazans who have sought refuge elsewhere.